The EEOC just filed suit agains BMW and Dollar General over their blanket refusal to hire former offenders. In the BMW case, the EEOC claims that BMW outsourced part of their human relations policy to an outside contractor who promptly fired 88 former offenders. In the Dollar General suit, the EEOC states that Dollar refused to hire former offenders even where their was no nexus between the offense and the job. To prevent a discriminatory impact against minorities, the EEOC requires employers to have a nexus between the criminal conviction and the job (e.g. they can stop an embezzler from holding a job as a cashier). Unfortunately, there are too many people in HR Departments who believe they should have a per se policy against hiring former offenders.

The New York Times has urged these companies to reconsider their policies.